Song of the Week

Loreena McKennitt, “Penelope’s Song”

It’s Monday again. Funny how that happens. I won’t be streaming on Twitch tonight, as several forces have converged to give me too many things to do today, but I plan to stream Thursday evening instead. On Wednesday I’ll be posting the next chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, so be sure to stop by again then.

On Friday and going into next week, I’ll be participating in the Global Climate Strikes, so there will be a brief hiatus while that is going on—I’ll have more information about that later this week.

Please enjoy this song, and have an excellent week.

The Well Below the Valley: Player Characters/Session Zero

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

As a gamemaster (“Keeper of Arcane Lore,” in Call of Cthulhu parlance [1] ), I design campaigns that are very character-focused, and so this module was written for my players’ four characters. To introduce each of them to the campaign, I designed a “session zero” that would draw them into the mystery, give them some early clues, and teach the players the game system. It was a good way to get players invested early on and establish their connections to the game world. 

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: death, violence, mentions of sexism and racism, some discussion of WWI, and a very brief mention of the Armenian Genocide.)

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: Player Characters/Session Zero” →

The Well Below the Valley: Handouts

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

Links to PDF downloads, as well as transcriptions where possible, are provided in each chapter, but all the PDFs can be found here.

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: Handouts” →

The Well Below the Valley: NPC Profiles

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

This is an appendix of sorts where all the NPC profiles will be kept.

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: NPC Profiles” →

Song of the Week

London Grammar, “Leave the War With Me”

Happy Monday!

This week, I’ll be posting all the rest of the introductory material for The Well Below the Valley. You’ll meet the four player characters who braved the adventure with me and see how I introduced each of them to the mystery plot, plus the first of many handouts. Please enjoy this song, which I chose as the unofficial theme song for the campaign.

I’ll be on Twitch this evening playing Enderal, so feel free to stop by!

Encouraging Words in the Depression Dungeon

The allegory will persist until morale improves.

If you’re wondering what I get up to on Twitch, this is a half-hour clip from my stream a couple months ago, featuring my husband in the background and a friend on the chat. I’m playing Enderal: Forgotten Stories, the total conversion mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim developed by SureAI.

Here, our protagonist navigates an allegorical dream-vision with a very pessimistic man. Some spoilers for the main plot quest called “Part of Something Momentous, Part II.”

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter II

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which Eske makes a friend, and his journey continues southward.

Table of Contents

The wind howled across the steppe. I should have been afraid, but I was not aware enough for fear; hunger and cold were my constant and only companions for so long that I had ceased to notice even their presence. I stood and gripped my makeshift spear, my fingers numb and my body shivering. I was accustomed to cold, but I was undernourished and insufficiently clothed. 

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter II” →

Song of the Week

Shawn James, “One I Love” (traditional Irish folk song)

Please enjoy this song. I’ll be on Twitch this evening playing Enderal: Forgotten Stories, and I’ll be back Wednesday with a new chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea. See you then!

The Well Below the Valley: Introduction

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

It is February 13, 1922. Three days ago, Oxford professor of archaeology Emundr Ragnarsson was found dead in a London hotel room. At first, it was assumed that his death was a natural one, but there are too many questions surrounding it. Who has been following the professor around Oxford? What happened on his last field expedition, that was cut short and declared a failure? What does his work have to do with a mysterious blight affecting plants around the country? And how did he drown, miles from the harbor and with no other sources of water nearby? 

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: Introduction” →

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter I

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which the story begins.

Table of Contents

Listen. Let me tell you a story.

I will tell you of my journey, from the ocean at the end of the world to the mountain of iron, beneath which slept a horror of ages long past.

I will tell you of the daughter of the stargazer, who found me on the northern wastes at the end of my long winter.

I will tell you of the woman who dared to defy the seven gods of the citadel.

And I will tell you of the barefoot prophet, for the man who now sits on the throne of Phyreios is not the same as the one who walked among its people in the days before the cataclysm.

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter I” →